10 Actors Who Tragically Died Right After Their Most Famous Role

Welcome to WatchMojo, today we’re looking at actors who tragically died after the completion or release of their most famous role.

Brandon Lee

“The Crow” (1994)
The son of actor and martial arts legend Bruce Lee, Brandon followed his father’s example, starring in a number of Hollywood films. While some of Brandon’s early roles have gone on to become cult hits, none broke though in a substantial way. That changed when he was cast as the titular character in “The Crow,” which has become Lee’s enduring legacy. Unfortunately the other enduring legacy of the film was the on-set tragedy that took place. Having completed most of the film, due to a negligent mistake with the prop gun, Lee was shot in the chest with a blank round. Though rushed into surgery, attempts to save the young star's life were ultimately unsuccessful.

Anton Yelchin

“Star Trek Beyond” (2016)
Beginning his career as a child actor, Anton Yelchin made ripples across Hollywood from a young age, starring in both smaller independent films and big budget blockbusters. Either way, his performances were thoughtful and profound, even when playing a part made famous by another actor. Stepping into the role of Pavel Chekov for the 2009 “Star Trek” reboot, Yelchin found his most well known role. He would go on to reprise that role in two sequels, including a final time for “Beyond.” That film, released just a month after a freak accident took Yelchin’s life at just twenty-six years old, carried a title card honoring his memory that read simply “For Anton.”

Adrienne Shelly

“Waitress” (2007)
First coming to the attention of filmgoers in the late 80s and early 90s, Shelly came to prominence as an indie darling through the festival circuit. Over the next decade however, Shelly began to become more interested in roles behind the camera as well. She would go on to write and direct a number of films she co-starred in, with her film “Waitress” premiering at Sundance. Heartbreakingly that film would be her last as she was the victim of a homicide prior to the film’s release. The film would go on to be Shelly’s most famous work, winning acclaim and even inspiring a hit broadway musical.

Spencer Tracy

“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967)
Spencer Tracy had been a prolific star of the screen since the 1930s, earning multiple academy awards and appearing in dozens of films over the decades. However, the film for which he is best remembered today was his last. Alongside his longtime partner Katharine Hepburn, he appeared in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” which tackled the subject of interracial marriage while it was still illegal in seventeen states. As he had been in poor health, Hepburn remained by Tracy’s side during his final years, living with him when he suffered a fatal heart attack. The film was a landmark in the civil rights movement, seen by millions, though never by Hepburn, who described viewing it as simply too painful.

Paul Walker

“Furious 7” (2015)
Walker was unquestionably best known to audiences as Brian O'Conner, one of the longtime leads of the “Fast & Furious” franchise. A co-lead from the first film, he’d appear in all but one of the first seven films in the franchise. Along with Vin Diesel, he became the face of one of the most popular film franchises on the planet. Halfway through the production of “Furious 7,” however, Walker’s life was cut short in a single vehicle accident. With the help of his brothers as stand-ins, scenes involving Walker were completed, with the film’s final scene acting as an emotional send off to the character and actor himself.

Peter Finch

“Network” (1976)
One of the most famous speeches in film history is unquestionably Peter Finch’s “I’m mad as hell” outburst from the darkly satirical comedy “Network.” The film quickly became a commercial and critical success, earning a slew of Oscar nominations including best actor for Finch. During a promotional tour, just after appearing on “The Tonight Show,” Finch died from a heart attack in his hotel room. Two months later he would go on to win that Oscar posthumously, becoming the first actor to ever do so. Today the film is remembered for its prescient take on the media landscape, perfectly personified by Finch’s performance.

Chadwick Boseman

“Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
Chadwick Boseman’s star rose quickly in the 2010s when he portrayed a number of real influential African-American figures. However, his most famous role was a fictional and iconic African figure. First appearing in “Captain America: Civil War,” and later his own solo film, he played T'Challa, AKA the superhero Black Panther, instantly becoming one of the MCU’s most popular characters. However in the same year he first appeared as T'Challa, he was diagnosed with colon cancer, something known only to those close to the actor. His final outing as the character came in “Endgame,” which featured him in a triumphant moment that, in retrospect, became one of the most powerful in the entire franchise, as he would pass away just months after the film’s release.

Dominique Dunne

“Poltergeist” (1982)
Following a family that unwittingly stumbled upon a curse, the “Poltergeist” franchise itself has been said to be cursed due to a number of tragedies that plagued the cast. The first and most infamous was the death of Dominique Dunne, who played the eldest daughter Dana in the original film. Dunne was horrifically murdered by her boyfriend in the same year as the release of her breakthrough performance in “Poltergeist,” just as she had begun to parlay that success into starring roles in TV and film. With her time cut so cruelly short, at just twenty-two, we’ll never know what she could have achieved.

James Dean

“Rebel Without a Cause” (1955)
Despite being a film icon and sex symbol for the last half century, movie star James Dean only appeared in three major films. Even more tragically, two of those films were released after his untimely passing. An avid fan of auto racing, Dean was killed in a crash at a California junction at twenty-four years old, just a month before the release of “Rebel Without a Cause,” the only film where he received top billing. The movie, and Dean’s performance, while initially receiving mixed reviews, have gone on to become a beloved and important symbol for the counterculture, and the recklessness of youth, made even more poignant by Dean’s death.

Heath Ledger

“The Dark Knight” (2008)
After breaking out of Australian television, Ledger had made a name for himself with American audiences with roles in films like “10 Things I Hate About You” and “Brokeback Mountain.” Yet his most defining role came when he took on the part of one of film’s greatest villains, the Joker. Standing apart from previous iterations of the character, Ledger’s turn was notable for its grittiness and his seemingly complete transformation into the clown prince. Just months after filming had wrapped, however, Ledger was found dead from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. Following his passing his performance earned near universal praise, including a win for Best Supporting Actor at the following year’s Academy Awards, becoming the second actor to do so after Peter Finch.


Are there more iconic final performances we should have mentioned? Let us know in the comments below.